De Profundis and Other Writings (Penguin Classics)

Written as a letter to Bosie, De Profundis shows an author at the peak of his powers, yet tragically already fallen. Anger, disgust, revulsion, joy, reflection - in many ways a total separation from the glib and cocky literature that made him famous - the full gamut of a humbled man. Even missing the cheeky humor and quick turn of phrase there is still a solid thread of consistency entombed in De Profundis, that of salvation. From the grace evident in his fairy tales to the recognition of inner justice in Dorian Gray, Wilde flirted with the themes of the Divine and of sacrifice. This is one of the finest, and most powerful, personal essays ever committed to paper. No collection, or indeed beginnings of understanding, of Wilde can possibly be complete without it.